If you are running a small business and you have not realized how essential website design is for your business, it was high time you start taking advantage of the power of the internet. Investing in a quality website design can be one of the brightest decisions you have ever made to power your business.

The improvement of web Development technology in today’s era has progressed business where a company represents itself in the online world and become the essential part of a day to day life. And, there is no crime in stating that professional website consists of the important role to attract new users.

Below are 5 essential stages of the design process that will assist you to understand how a website is designed and developed on a professional scale.

Project Planning

Project planning refers to determining the overall goals and objectives of the Web Development project. This is questionably the most important stage in the entire project. It is further divided into the following five parts – Requirement Assessment, Project Summary, Determining Required Resources, Key performance goals, Competitor Analysis.

Determining Project Scope

The next stage of the design process includes determining project scope. Creating a well-defined scope of the project will help in ensuring that the website project ends on time and within the specified budget. One of the best ways to mark out the scope of the project is a Gantt chart.

A Gantt chart offers a visual reference of the project. The chart shows activities involved in the project. It also shows the timeframe for the completion of each stage. It helps in specifying the scope of the project. Moreover, it also creates accountability between the website design team.

Website Design

The next significant stage of the website design process is designing the website itself. In this stage, the website development team focuses on selecting the theme, color, layout, features, and other aspects of the website.

During this step, the website designers incorporate different elements such as company logo, the color that strengthens brand identity, a theme that reflects the company’s product portfolio, and layout that is elegant and looks appealing.

The website designer will craft one or more prototype designs for the website. This is then sent to the website owners through email with the mock-ups of the website.

Website Development

In this web development phase, the website development team takes individual elements of the website and uses them to create a functional website. The stage involves developing a home page after which a “shell” is created for the interior pages. The shell contains the navigational structure and site layout without the web content. Once the website owner provides the content, it is spread throughout the site in the specified areas.

On the technical side, the website development process includes elements such as designing interactive contact forms, implementing payment gateways, and choosing a CMS such as WordPress, Joomla, and Magento.

Website Testing and Deployment

The fifth and final stage of the website is testing and deployment process. In this stage, the website designer adds final touches to the site and tests the website before deployment. The designer will test entire functionality of the site to ensure that it runs smoothly without any fault. The website designer will test the scripts and forums, ensure that the site displays well on different devices and platforms, bear out internal links, and other similar tasks.

The website designer will also validate the website codes to ensure that it meets latest website standards. This ensures that the website performs smoothly exclusive of any issues and problems.

The website is then shown to its owners to acquire the final approval of the site. After the final approval, it’s time to deliver the site. The web design team will upload the site to a hosting server specified and selected by the website owner using an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) program.

After the website has been uploaded to the hosting server, the last run through is conducted to ensure that the site performs without any problem. This step is performed just to authorize that all the files have been uploaded correctly and that the site is fully functional.

At last, the website design team adds finer details to the website to optimize its functionality and performance like plugin installation, on page SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and page speed optimization.

Your web designer should work closely with you on a much-related process to this one. A good working relationship with your designer, counting an open line of communication, is vital to ensure they are creating a successful website that will help your business grow.

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